Stanford wins first Rose Bowl since 1972

It was a game of tipped passes, tough defenses and missed opportunities. What began looking like a shootout in the making with Stanford scoring on its first two offense drives and Wisconsin answering quickly, seemed to slow to a crawl in the second half. Both teams traded punches and punts for nearly all of the second half. It was a three-point game until Stanford finally broke through, embarking on a 12-play, 51-yard drive ending in a Jordan Williamson field goal.

Up by only six, it looked as if the Badgers would respond, with Curt Phillips hitting his receivers downfield on the next drive; that is, until Usua Amanam intercepted a tipped Phillips pass with under two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Afterwards, a few tough runs from Stepfan Taylor sealed a first down, and victory formation found Stanford enjoying their sixth Rose Bowl victory in school history.

It’s only appropriate that the fate-deciding interception came on a tipped pass. The Cardinal’s front four did a fantastic job getting in the passing lanes, putting pressure on the Badger quarterbacks and getting hands on the ball all game. Every tipped pass seemed to end up in Badgers’ hands. On Wisconsin’s second scoring drive late in the second quarter, one tipped pass ended up doing big damage to the Cardinal, flipping dubiously into the waiting hands of Jared Abbrederis. Inside Stanford’s red zone, Phillips dimed a pass right through the hands of AJ Tarpley, finding Sam Arneson for a nine yard gain. Just three plays later, Wisconsin scored to cut the Cardinal’s lead to three.

It seemed many of the 12-2 Stanford Cardinal’s strengths weren’t always with them today, and yet they still found a way to win. Head coach David Shaw reiterated as much in his post game comments, telling the Rose Bowl crowd, “It’s not always pretty, it’s not always perfect, but we never stop, we always keep going, and you know what, we finish what we start.”

Montee Balled, but not hard enough

It may not be the way the Badgers’ running back wanted to end his career at Wisconsin, but if Ball was auditioning himself for some NFL teams in the Rose Bowl, he could have done worse. Ball finished his day with 24 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown, running hard on an NFL-sized Cardinal defense.

He missed out on the offensive player of the game honors in lieu of Stepfan Taylor, who’s performance can be summed up with the same word many would use to describe his entire career: dependable. His stats aren’t spectacular — 20 carries for 88 yards and a score, but when the Cardinal needed him, he showed up.

Taylor isn’t flashy like his offensive counterparts; Anthony Wilkerson is going to be fun to watch play in Taylor’s role next season, along with Barry Sanders Jr. Kelsey Young continued to show what he’s capable of on his 16-yard reverse for a score. What Taylor has translates into the NFL. However, he rarely goes down after first contact, he enjoys fantastic field vision and possesses an unstoppable motor. A Rose Bowl win is a fitting end to a great Cardinal’s career, and now a team in need of a running back will get a steal in Taylor come draft time this April.

Naturally, when Taylor spoke it was all about Kevin Hogan, the quarterback who he said was “carrying this team.” Hogan’s passing numbers weren’t flashy, but he played impressively for a redshirt freshman in only his fifth career start. In hindsight, Shaw’s decision to move on from Josh Nunes to Hogan went as seamlessly as it possibly could have and Stanford was no worse for the wear. In the process, the Cardinal’s young quarterback certainly emerged battle-tested after beating four straight ranked opponents and securing a Bowl victory in his first NCAA action.

When the 2012 season opened, many wondered how Stanford would survive life after Luck. Instead, the Cardinal did what they never did with him, and showed us that in a team sport like football, one player doesn’t always make or break a unit.

About the Author

Ruthless Sports Guy (otherwise known as Kyle McLorg) has many hobbies: cheering on the 49ers at Candlestick, keeping his dog (half-wolf) out of trouble at the dog park or yelling at his TV during Sharks and Giants games. You can find more of RSG's writing at Ruthless Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Ruthless_Sports.

As a Cal fan, blue thru and thru, hard to root for Stanford but appreciate David Shaw and root for the PAC 12. Thanks for the insights - looks like Big Game wins may be hard to come by but exited about the new recruiting class,especially Jared Goff.

Classic Stan - Thinking outside the box on the Democratic / Liberal / Left Wing side of the political spectrum is celebrated, while the same non-conventional approach by the Condervative / Republican / Right Wing Hoover Institute is ridiculed.
Happy New Year Stan , good to see you're becoming more open-minded

They play for one the worlds greatest Universities-and it encourages free expression for social good. I'm sure each of those "dirty hippies" has scores that fly over you and slams.
What school took you..or your kind?

I see dogs all over the Stanford campus, Stanley. Especially on weekends.
But oh no, those "Establishment" people sure do like crushing the public. Are you a character in an old Mad magazine from the 70s, or a real life human Stan?
Go Stanford!

The Hoover Institute is just another tax write off for the members like Condy Rice.
And its formation has no backing of the student body or faculty..only the administration that all vote right wing. Its no myth that the majority of any college are liberal,and no myth that those who seize power at the top are the conservatives. Like the ones who do things like ban dog walking all the way up to spraying chemical weapons on protesting students.

UCSB. Go Gauchos !
And for your information Stan, I protested against offshore oil drilling, because unlike you, my political beliefs cover both sides of the field. It's called "having a brain". You should try it some time

ESPN briefly showed the Wisconsin band at halftime doing a kick ass Beatles medley. They CRUSHED it. Old school, traditional Marching Band musical arrangement.
The Stanford Band overplays the "wacky" schtick to the point where it's contrived and stupid. A percussionist played a kitchen sink. Get it ? Everything but the kitchen sink ??? That's SO funny.

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